On March 1st I speak at the Shift Conference at Willow, and then we fly that night to Portland for a nice event called Crossing Borders on developing missional churches.
On Lent: here is one nice reflection by Trevin Wax, and I encourage you to mention other blogs or websites where there are Lenten reflections. Here’s another: A Redemptive Journey with Jesus.
Hope for the homeless, Marko’s must-read on ministry with Merk.
Do Christians evaluate cultural icons, including religious figures, with critical thinking? Scroll down Barna’s page and read his new report.
One of my all-time favorite students (of course I say this about lots of them) now has a blog: Sarah “looking in.”
And here’s a nice new blog by Syler, a local pastor with whom I occasionally have coffee. He’s got some wit to his posts, too!
Lent raises atonement, and LeRon Shults has an exceptional introduction to Rene Girard’s stuff on atonement. He also has now posted a second post on the classical disciplines of spiritual formation: purgation and illumination.
John Stackhouse responds to Oprah’s new theory: The Secret.
1. Ben Witherington puts Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis to a good test, and confirms many things I’ve been saying since it came out: Rob needs to be more discriminate about his use of Jewish sources and the scholars he relies on.
2. Two of my earliest TEDS students — they fell in love with one another when Linda was doing Exegesis — and now Rob’s Fr Rob (Anglican) on my sidebar; here they are videoing the slippery slope (not arguments) in Washington, DC. We’ll be out at their church this spring and we are excited to see them again.
3. Ted ponders what it’s like to be poor in America.
4. Short, concise, wise advice about writing from Tony.
5. Learning not to say “guys” to lesbians and apologizing for it … nice personal post from Art Boulet.
6. Brains: men and women comparisons.
7. Heart health is connected to geography.
8. Thanks to TSK for a post about Paul Hiebert’s health. I taught with Paul for a few years and consider him a wise, wise man.
9. Can a kingdom divided stand? One of the great things about the USA is political fights.
10. This video is why kids in the Midwest grow up thinking snow is great (as I did); and if you watch to the end you will see an emerging pastor.
Sports:
The Big Ten is proving to be a much better conference in basketball this season than the pundits thought; Wisconsin and Ohio State have made a sudden appearance as #1 and #2 in the nation. Then Michigan State beats Wisconsin in one of the best games of the year.
Candace Parker’s first half against LSU was incredible. The Lady Vols have a chance.
American Idol might be the best sport right now: Takisha Jones can sing.